Texas man arrested for threatening Georgia election officers: NPR

In this file photo dated Dec. 14, 2020, a voter fills out paperwork before casting a ballot on the first day of early voting for the Senate runoff in Atlanta. Hide Ben Gray/AP Caption

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Ben Gray/AP

In this file photo dated Dec. 14, 2020, a voter fills out paperwork before casting a ballot on the first day of early voting for the Senate runoff in Atlanta.

Ben Gray/AP

FBI agents arrested a Texas man on Friday for allegedly threatening to kill election officials and other government officials in Georgia.

Chad Christopher Stark, of Leander, Texas, was taken into custody Friday morning after being charged in the Northern District of Georgia on a single charge of interstate threats.

The case is the first brought by the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, which was set up last summer to counter the growing number of nationwide threats against election officials and administrators.

According to the indictment, on Jan. 5, 2021, Stark, 54, posted a message on Craigslist titled “Georgia Patriots, it’s time to kill.” [Official A] the Chinese agent – $10,000.”

In the message, text of which is included in the indictment, Stark says it’s time to take Georgia back from what he calls “lawless treacherous traitors.”

He also writes that it is time “to put a bullet on the treacherous Chinese [Official A]. Then we work our way down [Official B] the local and federal corrupt judges.”

According to the indictment, Stark goes on to say that “we need to pay a visit [Official C] and her family and put a bullet behind her ears.”

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He also targets local law enforcement officials who he says have enforced mask mandates and shut down American businesses while allowing Black Lives Matter and anti-fascists to wreck the country.

According to the indictment, Stark threatened to trace the families of these officers, saying, “We will make examples of traitors to the country…death to you and your communist friends.”

In an interview with NPR, Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco called the indictment “a milestone” for the election threats task force.

And while the case against Stark is the task force’s first in its six-month work, Monaco told NPR it “won’t be the last.”

Department officials say the task force has received more than 850 reports of threats against poll workers and dozens of active investigations are ongoing.

Monaco said it’s not just the rise in threats that’s a cause for concern, “but frankly, the alarmingly personal and violent and aggressive nature of the threats.”

Election officials protect democracy, Monaco said, and the Justice Department will protect them.

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The rise in threats comes amid a broader challenge to democratic US elections as former President Donald Trump continues to make false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Georgia, which turned Democrats on the 2020 vote to help President Biden elect, became a flashpoint for Trump and his supporters. Trump himself has even pressured Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, to take action to reverse Trump’s election defeat in the state.

But officials say the worrying rise in threats isn’t geographically limited; rather, it is a problem that affects the whole country.

It’s an issue about which Attorney General Merrick Garland has repeatedly expressed concern and has promised to take action.

In a statement Friday, Garland said the department has “a responsibility not only to protect the right to vote, but also to protect those who administer our electoral systems from violence and illegal threats of violence.”

But Garland has also warned of a broader trend of threats against public officials, including school officials, lawmakers, journalists, judges and police officers.

In a speech marking the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, Garland said this rising tide of threats put the country at great risk.

“They permeate so many parts of our national life that they risk becoming normalized and routine unless we stop them,” he said. “It’s dangerous for people’s safety. And it is deeply dangerous for our democracy.”